Parkinson disease and smoking revisited

Abstract

Our data support the notion that patients with PD are able to quit smoking more easily than controls. These findings are compatible with a decreased responsiveness to nicotine during the prodromal phase of PD. We propose that ease of smoking cessation is an aspect of premanifest PD similar to olfactory dysfunction, REM sleep disorders, or constipation and suggests that the apparent "neuroprotective" effect of smoking observed in epidemiologic studies is due to reverse causation.